Paige hurried around her apartment, getting ready for her first day back at work. Her extended holiday had probably been given with the intention of allowing her extra time to relax and spend with her loved ones, but instead she had spent the majority of the past few weeks alone in her apartment, doing online research and becoming increasingly frustrated with her lack of progress.
Working for the Arrendales had brought her no closer to finding what she was searching for. She felt like she needed to stick it out and give it more time, but since the real Jolene had showed up and Lance was on to her deception, she was running out of time. This plan of hers was feeling increasingly hopeless.
She paused at the desk and picked up the well-worn and frequently read letter that her sister had sent her so many months ago. She had scoured it countless times looking for some sort of clue, but it only brought her to the same conclusion: that this was where she needed to be. The wording in the letter was so vague; all it told her for certain was that her sister was alive.
She folded the letter and placed it back in its drawer. She didn't have time to mull over it now. It was her first day back, and she was already running behind. She decided to wait and see how much grief Lance had in store for her today and then decide if she wanted to continue her job at the Arrendales or abandon this plan for Plan B, whatever that might be.
She was about to grab her bag and head out when she was startled by a knock on the door. She frowned, wondering who it could be. She never had visitors.
When she opened the door, she was stunned speechless. She threw her arms around the woman standing on her doorstep and grabbed her in a hug. "Oh my god! It's you!"
* * * * *
Lawrence walked into the office later than he had planned. Today was supposed to be the nanny's first day back after the holidays, and she was a no-show. After calling her and receiving no answer, he was left to scramble to get the children off to school before he could go to work. He'd had his doubts about Jolene for a while now and had been putting off making a final decision about her employment. Not showing up without even a phone call was the last straw. He decided it was time to let her go and start looking for a replacement. He knew just the person to help him with that task.
He nodded at Shayna as he walked through the office, but had trouble keeping eye contact with her. "Welcome back. Are you getting settled in?"
"I'm starting to," she said. "I'm sure I will be back into the swing of things in no time."
"I have no doubt. When you have a spare moment, I would like to talk about a personal task you can help me with. It's not urgent."
"No problem."
Vivian watched their exchange from the corner of her eye as she left the break room. She picked up a clipboard, making an excuse to stop by Simon's cubicle. She whispered to her coworker as she nodded towards Shayna, "You know why she's back, don't you?"
He shook his head.
"Mr. Arrendale doesn't want to be alone with her in his house."
Simon looked confused. "Why not?"
Vivian just raised an eyebrow and grinned. She loved having the inside gossip. She decided not to say too much in case someone else overheard. "Let's just say I need to remember to bring some popcorn with me from now on so I can enjoy the show."
* * * * *
Shayna rapped on Andrew's office door before walking in. He looked up from his paperwork as she dropped a file folder on his desk. "Here are the reports for you to look over."
"Thank you, Shayna," he said as he turned his attention back to his work.
Shayna started to walk out of the office, but instead of leaving, she shut the door and turned back to Andrew.
"Are you really okay with me working here?"
"It's fine," he said flatly before looking up at her. He could tell by her body language that she was skeptical. "I was surprised you would want to take the job."
"We're both adults. I think we can handle ourselves maturely and professionally. Don't you?" she asked challengingly.
"I believe so. The counseling should help if we have problems with that."
"Thank you for agreeing to go with me."
"Of course. I want to come to a resolution soon, for us and for the kids."
Shayna nodded solemnly before turning and leaving his office.
* * * * *
"Lucy and I just discovered this place recently," Chloe told Reese as she led the way into the coffee shop. "Unfortunately, we ran into Shayna when we were here," she sighed. "But otherwise, it was great."
Reese nodded awkwardly, not eager to get into neighborhood drama. She was grateful when Chloe didn't pursue the subject after they placed their orders at the counter and found a table.
"So, how is married life treating you?" Chloe asked eagerly as they settled in at their table.
"So far so good," Reese replied. "We can't thank you enough for all that you did to bring the wedding together. It was better than I could have imagined."
"I'm so glad. That's what I was hoping for. How was your trip?"
"It was great. We went to the mountains. We tried a little skiing, but I discovered I don't have the talent for it. We ended up spending a lot of time in the cabin in front of the fire."
"That sounds wonderful."
"It was hard to leave Natalie home on her own, though. I was more than a little relieved when she texted me and said she changed her mind and decided to spend the weekend with Maura instead."
Before Chloe could respond, someone called out Reese's name.
Reese looked up to see Dustin, her former coworker, waving at her before making his way over.
"Hey, Reese. How have you been? What have you been up to?"
"Well, I just got married," Reese said. She was embarrassed that she couldn't think of more going on in her life than that.
"Good for you. Congratulations."
"How about you?"
"I think I was engaged when we last saw each other, but that's been put on hold. We've been kind of off and on. Mostly off." He looked over at Chloe, who brushed back her hair with her left hand, flashing her wedding ring. Taking the hint, he cleared his throat and turned back to Reese. "Are you working anywhere or are you taking on the role of housewife?"
"I've been taking some time off to regroup, but I definitely plan on going back to work. Hopefully soon, but I'm still trying to decide what direction I want to take next."
"If you're looking for something, I have an opportunity for you. I'm working on establishing my own firm, and I would love to have you on my team. We didn't have the chance to work together very long, but in that short time, I could tell you were a great attorney." He took a card out of his jacket pocket and offered it to Reese. "Here's my card. If you're interested in working with me, just give me a call."
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